Writing was not your first
or even second career. When did you decide to get serious and try your hand at
writing?
I
have been a writer all my life. It has been part of almost every job I’ve ever
had and I’ve written for myself for as long as I can remember. During the years
I had one of those pesky, time-consuming day jobs, I wrote short pieces. Thanks
to a supportive husband, I was eventually able to let that part of my life go
and focus on writing—longer pieces first, then novels.
Did you take writing
courses in college?
My
college career was almost as varied as my occupational one—I was a wife and
mother in addition to working full-time when I went back for a college degree.
I ended up with a double major in history and political science and enough
credits for a degree in English if I’d taken 9 more hours of a language. I had
already been in college for years and was ready to leave so I didn’t go for it.
I have regularly taken writing workshops since then, the latest, a day-long
workshop with Donald Maass sponsored by my local RWA chapter.
Prior to your current book series, your
works were published in such notable series as Cup of Comfort and Chicken Soup
for the Soul. What was the first thing that you wrote that got published?
The first piece I ever submitted was accepted for an anthology.
The second piece I submitted was published in a regional magazine. Wow, I
thought. This is easy. Then reality hit as the next dozen or so pieces were
rejected. I kept at it, though. Eventually, after almost a decade of writing,
I’ve had work published in a dozen anthologies, a number of magazines, have won
awards for children’s stories and memoir pieces and have five books under
contract with Crimson.
In your bio it says that
your children’s stories “were not vetted by anyone before being published.”
Does that literally mean no one reviewed or critiqued your work at all prior to
submission?
Heavens,
no. I have been lucky enough over the years to have wonderful critique partners
who willingly read my work, sometimes enduring the same piece over and over
again. The comment you quoted was meant only to say that, although I let my
daughter read a piece beforehand to decide if I’ll embarrass her by publishing
something about her childhood, the other stories I write don’t need to be given
her seal of approval. Which, considering I write spicy romance, is probably a
good thing.
When did you decide to start writing a
novel? When did you decide to do a series?
I wrote a
mystery novel when I first started writing seriously because that was my escape
genre of the moment. It got some amazingly good rejections. But when no one was
interested in publishing it, I put it away and stuck to short pieces. I also
began another art career in kiln-formed glass.
However, a series of about five characters began to obsess me—a
couple of cops, a DA, an artist and an art gallery owner. As they began to pair
off, fall in love (and fall into bed), it was obvious I was writing romance.
One set of characters led to another and pretty soon I had a series of six
novels with stand-alone plots but characters who wander from book to book.
How many rewrites of each of your books
would you say you do?
The first three novels I wrote have been rewritten so many times
I’ve lost count but I’m sure each one is had rewrites in double digits.
Interestingly, these are books 2, 3 and 6 of the series. (In fact, I’m
polishing #6 right now.) Books 1 and 5, I wrote during National Novel Writing
Month (NaNoWrMo) in 2010 and 2011 and they went through, maybe, 3 drafts and
final polishing, as did book 4.
How did you first go about finding a
publisher? Did you query agents?
I queried
agents, was able to get a half dozen to read one or another of the first
completed novels but not successful in snagging one to take me on as a client.
Then I read a Facebook post about an editor looking for romance novels for a
new imprint from Adams Media, which had published some of the anthologies where
I’d placed work. I queried, got accepted and here I am, a year later with five
books under contract and one more almost ready to go to my editor. Still no
agent and not really looking for one at this point.
I understand your publisher does eBooks as part of a monthly book club for a flat fee similar to what
Netflix does for movies.
How are you paid?
Crimson
publishes our books in several ways. One way is the book club you mention and
we do share the monthly fee between the authors whose books are downloaded.
But that’s not
the major way our books are released. The biggest sales are from individual
downloads from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other outlets for eBook
platforms—Kindle, iPad, Nook. Also, about 3-4 months after release as an eBook,
our books come out in trade paperback as Print on Demand through Amazon.
How has your attitude about writing
changed over the years?
What has changed
about the way I look at my writing is that I am much more aware of the business
end of things and the need for marketing, no matter who the publisher is.
How long does it take you to write a book
today as opposed to your first novel?
I can now write
a first draft of a 50K word novel in 30 days—NaNoWrMo training. I work at my
writing about 6-8 hours every day. I don’t have a daily word count goal but I
do have monthly deadlines for what I want to accomplish.
Are you going to stay with writing
romance or do you want to try your hand at other genres?
Yes, I will be
continuing to write romances until my editor stops contracting with me for
them. I do, however, have a woman’s novel I’m working on which isn’t a romance.
How long does it take for a writer to
write exclusively and not hold down a second job?
To be blunt,
don’t quit your day job unless you have another source of income to pay your
mortgage. It takes time for most writers to build a platform, to build a
readership, to build a backlist, to make sense of an industry in turmoil over
the future of eBooks and bound books, the role of agents, how many publishers
does it take to change Amazon, where will books be sold when the last bookstore
closes. And while you do all that, you have to eat and have a roof over your
head. Most of my Crimson Romance sisters work full-time, raise kids and write
when they can grab the time to do it. I’m in awe of them.
With the constant churn of new romance
novels each month as your publisher does, what type of shelf life does your
book have?
With eBooks,
there is no shelf life—they last forever. In the old days, category romances
like mine were pulled from the shelves and pulped after three months. Now my eBooks
continue to exist online, each of my releases sells my backlist. The books are
always there, always visible when you pull up my name on Amazon or the Crimson
Website.
What suggestions do you have for
enhancing a writer’s social media platform?
I joke that if I
knew the answer to how to use social media and the internet to effectively sell
books, I’d stop writing romance and write a book about that to help everyone
who’s in the same boat I am—paddling along in a sea of confusion, trying to
figure it out. I regularly use Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pintrest and blog
on my own and other websites. I solicit reviews from book bloggers. I do local
readings, pass out postcards with my book cover/book blurb, do press releases
and Goodreads giveaways. With each book release, I seem to do more of all of
the above.
Does it result
in book sales? I wish I knew. I’m lucky enough to have a cadre of other Crimson
Romance writers who are generous in sharing their experience with everything
from who to contact to review our books to where to get the best deal on
postcards and other promotional materials to how long to run a Goodreads
giveaway.
One of my
Crimson sisters is trying to put together a list of what we’ve all tried to see
who has had the best luck with which approach. I hope she comes up with a magic
answer. Until someone does, however, I’ll use every tool I can to get my name
out and to plug my books. It’s the old throw-enough-mud-against-the-fence-and-some-will-stick
approach.
What is the best advice you’ve learned
you’d like to pass along to other aspiring writers
My best advice
to writers is the advice every writing workshop teacher I’ve ever had has said
at some point in the discussion—just write. As often as you can. As much as you
can. The old cliché is true—writers write. Keep at it, no matter what.
Or, to
paraphrase Corinthians, now abideth craft, talent and persistence, these three
but the greatest of these is persistence.
Love that last line. It is definitely all about persistence. The more you write the greater your chance of getting published. If you have enjoyed this interview and would like to learn more about Peggy and her writing here are the options:
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